


Sleepless Nights

by LizRambler



Series: Sleepovers [8]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-06
Updated: 2019-12-05
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:55:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21687931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizRambler/pseuds/LizRambler
Summary: Mickey talks to Rose about the DoctorThe Doctor talks to Donna about Rose
Relationships: Mickey Smith & Rose Tyler, Tenth Doctor & Donna Noble, Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Series: Sleepovers [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1531835
Comments: 17
Kudos: 84





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Tried to make this more fun and less angsty although it's a bit angsty.

Sleepless Nights

(For Rose Tyler this is the day before the Dimension Cannon Story: The Endless Night. For the Doctor, this happens after the Fires of Pompeii.)

“On the roof again, Rose Tyler? Going to have Jackie sending you to therapy...again,” Mickey Smith said, climbing the ladder Rose had leaned against the mansion to reach the roof. It was high, very high and he refused to look down. She was the most fearless human being he had ever met. Hell, she was the most fearless being he had ever met and since meeting the Doctor, he had met a lot. He knew this was about Him. It was always about the Doctor and Rose, since the day they’d met. That thought didn’t sting as much as it used to since Mickey had learned to be his own man, and to be better, do better like Rose.

Not that Rose didn’t do mental stuff like this sometimes. Jackie had sent him a text in a panic about her daughter being on the roof again and if he couldn’t be a dear, and talk her into coming down and sleeping in a bed on the ground floor, preferably. If this was her idea of roughing it, she was doing it with style. Rose had a sweet little setup complete with plush blankets, pillows, a bag of snacks, two thermoses, and binoculars. He wasn’t too concerned about the roof bit. He and Rose had snuck out and stood on the roof of Bucknell House a lot in the old universe.

“Well, if it isn’t Mr. Rickey Smith,” Rose teased giving him a hand up and pulling him into a hug. “When did you get back in? Heard you and Jake found a fully functioning factory on the coast.” She didn’t sound depressed. She sounded chipper. Mickey winced internally, chipper was a far more dangerous Rose Tyler mood than sad or pensive. 

Mickey hugged Rose tight, the scent of her reminding him of late-night trips to the pub to watch the match and chips, good old fashioned original London chips. Pete’s World chips were rubbish. He pulled back to smile at her. “Life’s good. Destroyed the factory. Gotto use explosives And everythin’. You and the Doctor would have loved that.”

“Oh yeah, love a big explosion,” Rose said, flopping back down onto the roof. “It’s better when you do it yourself, right?”

“Instead of having him tell you to run and not look back, yeah a bit.” They grinned toothily at one another.

Mickey sat when she patted the blanket next to her. Rose offered him a thermos. He opened it and took a swig. “Oh, Jackie Tyler makes the best tea!” 

“Yeah, don’t tell her though, she’s a bit,” Rose waved her finger around her ear and Mickey snorted, nearly choking on his second swig of tea. “And I’m the one in therapy,” she muttered bitterly. 

Cautiously, Mickey asked, “An’ how’s that then? Did they shrink your brains into tiny raisins? Ready to go back to the shops?” He kept his tone light, teasing, knowing Rose resented a lot of the help her family tried to give her. It was never the right sort of help, bless them. Rose needed things to do; lives to save. She was a real-world superhero and the Tylers kept trying to wrap her up in cotton wool. The fact that no one had gotten punched by now was a miracle. 

Mickey knew Rose hated being stuck in Pete’s World. Right after being trapped here, he reckoned Rose would have preferred dying to this. That hurt his ego and reaffirmed his decision to let all of their past go. Rose was never gonna love him the way he loved her. Not that he felt the same, not exactly the same. Rose was… his best mate.

He understood how she felt about this universe sometimes. It was odd, how all the things were almost the same but just different enough to set your teeth on edge. Rose had been sick of normal life back home well before the Doctor showed, making the ‘almost comfort’ more grating. And after the Doctor burned up a star to say goodbye-which Mickey thought was the most decent thing that daft alien had ever done for her-she had stopped eating. 

Jackie had been beside herself and angry with everyone. The rows between the Tyler women had frightened poor Pete. Micke was smart enough to make himself scarce at Torchwood, even when they needed him for the merger. He wasn’t risking a limb near the Tyler women. Mickey had forced himself to let Rose be. He had his own feelings to work through at the time. A stupid hope that since they were trapped she might…it was fine. He got over it. She’d only started eating again when the stars started going out. She and the astronomers had noticed at the same time. That night she had eaten a bowl of spaghetti hoops. No question why there, Rose was meant for the weird stuff. Born for it. (And who didn’t love spaghetti hoops?)

He’d been relieved. So, that was when the weird sleeping patterns started. Every second week or so, she’d be up for an entire night, no matter how tired she was. Like now. Mickey had known her long enough to know that underneath that concealer, dark purple splotches sat. Wasn’t healthy, not that she’d ever listen to him about it. Not that she’d ever listen to anyone about anything, the stubborn woman.

A laugh burst out of her, rusty but genuine. “Right, can you see me in a shop again? Even with my shrunken head?”

“Yeah, reckon you’d be brilliant,” he said trying to hold a straight face even as she playfully thumped him.

“You’re just awful, Micks,” Rose said and another rusty laugh escaped her. She picked up her binoculars, playing with the strap. “Four more are missing, stars… All the Cygni are gone now. A whole constellation snuffed out. Gone forever.” Rose was sad as if the stars were her only friends. The chipper tone kicked back in full force as she continued, “Pete’s got the dimension cannon going. Figure I’ll get on that team. Sanjay says they’re actively looking for volunteers.” Rose handed him the binoculars.

A chill ran through him even though he should have expected this. He knew he was wasting his time, but for Jackie’s sake, he tried. “Rose, you can’t. I’ve seen the paperwork on that one. It really is a cannon. It’s a hole punch and you’re the needle. Plus, no one knows if it’ll work or squish you flat. Let someone else do it. The test trip at least.”

“Can’t.” Rose stated. “S’gotta be me. Can’t risk anyone else.”

“Why?”

Rose shrugged, “Coz they all got someone here, parents, friends, lives… I’ve got nothin’.”

Mickey winced.

“No life, I mean. I’m not meant to be here. Like they are. Mum, she fits. You fit. Me, I’m lost.” Rose stared out at the stars again. “S’like I’m hollowed out.”

“You’re an insomniac, in therapy, and your mum would never let it happen. You’re not the Doctor. No matter how badly you want to be,” he said, instantly regretting it. Rose’s eyes turned to ice. “You’re not though, Rose Tyler haven’t you done enough? Isn’t it time to let others handle it…” He huffed, unable to continue. No cotton wool for Rose Tyler. “Right, that sounded stupid even in my head. You should definitely do it. Become a dimensional pancake.”

Rose rolled her eyes.

“Or find the Doctor. S’all you want to do anyway. Not that any of the rest of us matter.”

Rose’s eyes glowed golden in the dark. “It’s not like that. It’s about our place in the world. Mine’s with him. And it’s about saving the universe, maybe multiple universes. Maybe saving this one will make me like it more… Coz now, I’m so…” Unhappy.

Mickey saw it in the lines of her body and the tightness in her jaw. He let his resentment drain away. “Look, Rose, I’m sorry. I was being stupid. Still, your mum is gonna kill me. Don’t hit me.” He held his hands up to make her laugh.

She didn’t laugh. She looked grim. “I can handle Jackie. She’s not your mum.”

“She slaps like she’s my mum.” 

She snorted. She settled back on her hands thinking. “I’m not an insomniac,” Rose stated. “I sleep. I do. I’m eating again. I put a stone back on.”

“Still too thin.” Mickey insisted.

“Not thin, lean. And that therapist is so stupid! I can’t tell her anythin’ that’s bothering me. How can I? Parallel worlds… Daleks, Slytheen, the Doctor, it’s all mental if you haven’t lived it. I get so excited to hear Harriet Jones’ voice on the telly because it’s normal to me. I feel like I’m in someone else’s skin. The music’s wrong. I once heard a Brittany Spears song at the end of the world and this lot hasn’t even got her. I don’t belong here, not now, not like this.”

“You could if you tried. But you never have.” Mickey knew he was back to sounding bitter. Sue him, he didn’t have to be perfect in front of Rose. 

“Maybe not.” Rose bit her fingernail, worrying it. “I am sleeping normally.”

“You have nights where you spend the whole thing on the roof. How is that sleeping normally?”

“It’s not random,” Rose said letting her finger go to bite her lip. 

“Go on, tell me,” Mickey prompted, lying back and resting his head on Rose’s stack of pillows. The night sky was clear for once. Stars dotted the inky blue-black and even a complete idiot could see bits were missing. It just looked unfinished. Whole areas of the sky were dark.

Rose mangled another one of her fingernails. It had to do with the Doctor, then. She hated bringing him up in front of Mickey. That was his fault. He knew it. He had been terrible to her in that first week, telling her to forget about it all. 

“You don’t want to hear it,” Rose stated flatly.

Ah, it was about their ‘beyond comprehension romance’ then.

“Rose, I knew you two were sleeping together. I’m not as stupid as you both thought,” Mickey added, to let her know it was okay even if a dark part of him whispered that it really wasn’t. Sure, he had dated other people when Rose was traveling but that was different… somehow.

“Yeah, not like that,” Rose said grimacing, “Sorry, not like that right away. Not until just before…”

Mickey’s eyebrows raised. “Pull the other one.”

“No, seriously. We were just friends. We would just share the bed. S’nice. Nothing…It wasn’t like that...”

“Until it was,” Mickey added.

Rose laid down next to him to stare up at the sky. She leaned against him. “I don’t sleep on the nights we would share. Once every nine days. S’like the rest of the time, it’s okay because I always slept alone. My body is just like okay sleep. Day nine, I’m alone. Not supposed to be alone. Stupid. S’been a year. Think my body would give up on it.”

Mickey wrapped an arm around her, pushing his old hurt down and smothering it in his need to comfort his friend. He couldn’t resist asking, “Didn’t he have his own bed?”

Rose stared up at the sky, not meeting his gaze. That was fair. He sounded a bit sulky to his own ears. Maybe he wasn’t as good at burying hurt as he thought he was. “I asked him that… He was all, ‘Timelords don’t need a lot of sleep, Rose. Why would we waste an entire room on sleeping? Seems indulgent… No. He used to sleep wherever he dropped. I found him under the console once snoring, hugging a spanner.”

Mickey snorted.

“No, seriously though, all in leather, jeans, and boots on, snuggling it like it was a teddy bear.” She added.

Mickey giggled. “Big dangerous Timelord snoring and hugging a spanner. Oh, I would have killed to see that.”

“Right? I didn’t think to take a picture!”

“I miss Captain Beefcake,” Mickey admitted, “He would take the mick out the Doctor and he gave me this bottle of vodka once…”

“Hypervodka? Oooo bet you didn’t remember your name for a week,” Rose cooed, laughing. 

“I was sure that I had died. I still can’t drink anything stronger than a pint… Did you ever?”

“Oh yeah, I did. The Doctor left us in this bar on Regal V and Jack was supposed to keep me from getting into trouble. Instead, he ordered loads of shots of hypervodka. He ended up naked. I ended up in this giant fish tank.”

“How?” Mickey asked, picturing it and giggling a bit.

“No idea,” Rose replied earnestly. 

The laughter died out and he hugged Rose tight, his mind regressing again. Viciously he reminded himself that they had become best friends a long time before they were lovers, and the lovers thing was dead and dusted. Rose loved him but she loved the Doctor in a different way, an all-encompassing way that scared Mickey. He watched as the stars that were left twinkled.

“You really going to risk your life again?” he asked.

“Yeah, ‘course,” Rose replied without a shred of hesitation. “I’m Rose Tyler. I save worlds. Can’t fold shirts. Cleaning’s out. Got my A levels now. Training for Torchwood ended a month ago and Pete has been keeping me away from the dangerous stuff. Thinks I don’t notice. I shoulda went with you two. I’m qualified.”

Mickey agreed. “Yeah, but it was my turn to save the world.”

“Yeah?”

“Every fifth time is reserved for me,” he insisted. “Because I’m a hero.”

“You are,” Rose agreed, rolling up onto her elbow to stare at him, “No, you are. Mickey Smith look at what you’ve become! You’re brilliant.”

“I am.” he agreed easily to make her laugh.

“Do you reckon everyone from the Powell Estates eventually becomes a superhero?”

“Not Mr. Parsons, he’s a supervillain,” Mickey assured her. 

Rose snorted rolling back onto her back and letting out a sigh. “I miss him.”

“Mr. Parsons? Why? He smelled like beef and onion crisps!”

Rose slapped at him. “Shut up! You know who I meant.”

Mickey sighed. He knew. “Bet he misses you too.” How could he not?

“Nah, he’s moved on by now.” Rose sighed.

“Don’t be stupid. No one could forget you.” 

They grinned at each other. Mickey decided spending the night on the roof with Rose Tyler wasn’t a bad way to spend his time. Rose sighed. “Wish we had some chips,” she muttered.

“Nah, the chips here are bit gritty.”

“Yeah, revoltin’. How hard is it to fry potatoes and load them with salt and vinegar?”

Mickey shrugged. “That’s it, I’m going back to the other universe.”

“Me too. For the chips.” 

“Just for the chips?” he teased.

“Yeah,” she replied, smiling her tongue touched smile at him. “I’ve got a cravin’.”

“I’d go right to that pizza place… You know the one?”

“Yeah, yes, definitely. Let’s go to another universe for pizza…”

“Guess I’ll sign up for the dimension cannon too, eventually for the chips.” 

“Yeah, good plan…” Rose grinned.

Mickey laughed. “You think Keisha’s met anyone?”

“No, she’s waiting for you, loverboy.” Rose teased.

“You’re a rubbish friend.”

Laughing, Rose agreed with him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donna!

Donna changed into her pajamas. The Tardis provided her with a big fluffy white robe and bunny slippers. After being in Pompeii, Donna felt like she would never get the ash out of her lungs or hair. But swaddled in her robe, she was beginning to feel human again. The Doctor had let her save a family and she was grateful but she knew that thousands hadn’t been saved. It was not the best day but it was still better than any day she’d had back home. They’d made a difference today with that family and that had to matter, it had to count on some cosmic scale.

Speaking of the Doctor, she wondered if he was finally going to take a break. He had been getting a bit manic lately, well, more manic. He was always a bit like a toddler who’d gotten into the biscuit tin. She had slapped the last two coffees out of his hands if only to save her sanity. His pouting has been...well like that toddler again after the tin was taken away.

She was tempted to go find him. She was more tempted to lie on top of her bed and read a gossip magazine. Lying down with a stack of them, she hunted for the latest from this planet Clom, the Doctor was always going on about. Weird looking sort of blobby people but delightfully melodramatic. Plus they had resorts everywhere! It was the sort of planet the Doctor would avoid like the plague and it made her a bit mad for it.

The door popped open. “Donna, you’re not sleeping are you?”

“Don’t you ever knock?” she demanded, slapping the magazine closed on a particularly juicy sex scandal where she understood precisely none of the acts, she mock glared at him. “No, never mind. Why aren’t you sleeping?”

“Mm? Timelords need very little sleep, Donna. Superior biology,” he bragged, dropping down onto her bed. “‘Sides, not tired.”

“Liar, you look exhausted,” Donna countered. He looked a bit haggard to her. He even had a bit of a five o’clock shadow going. “Good rest would do you a world of good. Might make me nuts when I see you all “Tigger” in the morning. I’ll survive.”

“No morning on the Ta-”

“Oh, shut up,” Donna interrupted. “You know what I meant. Sometimes I think you just enjoy being annoying.”

He watched her solemnly. Uh oh, Donna knew that look. He was in a mood with a capital M. “I’ll leave you to it then,” he said, voice a bit pitchy.

“Wait,” she reached out, slapping a hand over his to keep him in place. “Why did you want to know if I was awake?”

A slow shrug went through him. “Thought you might want to watch a movie. Or, or go to Cantleeeni for ice cream. Best ice cream in the nine realms. Course it’s not really ice cream. The milk isn’t milk. It’s… best not to say what it is. Tastes amazing. They have this not chocolate there that pairs well with the not coconut thing which I think is actually a species of--” 

Donna slapped a hand over his mouth to stop the never-ending gob. “That sounds revolting.”

He sighed, flattening against the bed. She removed her hand. “Yeah forget it. S’rubbish. Bad idea. Stupid really…”

“Doctor,” Donna began, “do you want to talk about it?”

“Hm?”

“Something’s bothering you. Spill it, Martian.” Donna rolled a magazine and tapped him playfully with it. “Obviously not going to be able to get a moment’s peace until you tell me.”

He rolled onto his back in exasperation. “Oh, now I want to tell you. Yes, Doctor, please tell me your annoying problems so I can go back to reading about Clom’s sexcapades.” He plucked the magazine out of her hands and skimmed it. “This is… quite filthy actually.” He turned the page upside down. “And illegal? That is definitely illegal on three planets, no fourteen. Wow.” He flipped a few more pages, eyebrows disappearing into his rooster hair.

Donna looked to heaven for guidance. Unfortunately, it was just the room’s roof and no angels to intervene, so Donna tried again. She plucked the magazine out of his hand to get his attention. “Doctor, what’s wrong?”

He stared at the ceiling for a moment before running a hand over his face. “I’m… trying to stay awake.”

“Why?” Donna asked watching as he yawned. He never yawned. 

“Haven’t in a long time,” he told her. Another slow shrug happened before he added, “Don’t want to. Why should I? Oh, I know! I know, we could go to Venus. Haven’t learned any new Venusian Aikido moves and they’re lovely people with five arms… Imagine a hug from a person with five arms. Or not… hm.”

“Why don’t you want to sleep?” Donna asked, cutting through all of that. Worried she lay down beside him. His freckles were standing out against his paler than usual pale skin. “Can’t be healthy. Even with your “superior biology.” Which I think you just bang on about to excuse the rudeness. Sorry, Donna, superior biology comes with a higher metabolism...”

“Once, I ate the last bit of toast once, and she’s never ever going to let it go.” He grumbled.

“I hadn’t had a single piece yet. You ate thirteen, THIRTEEN pieces of toast. Almost a whole loaf yourself and you’re so skinny, it’s a wonder you’d don’t slip down the drains. If you need sleep, you should sleep.”

“S’fine, I can,” a yawn interrupted him. “Um, oh, um,” another yawn, “put it off for another week. Just need a few dozen cups of coffee.” His eyes turned sad. 

“Is this a weird alien thing? Do you die if you sleep or something? Nightmares?” 

“No, no, well, yes, but no, nothing like that…” He tapped his hands against the bed, fidgeting. “Jus’ hate sleeping… by myself.”

Donna felt her own brows rise.

He was silent for so long, Donna was about to decide Timelords slept with their eyes open when he replied, “I erm, used to like it, love it even. Then… well.” he turned a bit pink, “Things change. I changed. We erm, used to share. Me and…” He sniffed, reflexively, looking away.

“Rose? You can talk about her, you know. I’m your friend. You can tell me,” she kept her voice soft. Sometimes she had to coax a bit of truth out of him. “Did you share with Rose?” Rose was the Doctor’s friend that he had been missing when they met last year. He hadn’t mentioned her since. He had banged on forever about Martha but he would go silent sometimes. Donna was sure those silences were about Rose. She knew something had happened to her but she was alive and that was it. “She was your friend. Like me?”

“Not like you, not like,” he made a face, “anyone.”

“Oh, ohhhhh,” Donna drawled.

He nodded, his silly hair bobbing a bit. He mudded it. “Used to just kip wherever. Prisons, floors, low walls, car hoods…”

“Timelords are giant cats, aren’t they? Were your people fans of chasing string?”

“Yes,” the Doctor answered flatly. “Every year we all dressed up in our funny robes with the high collars and cap to chase a giant ball of wool.”

“Really?”

“No.” He rolled over and pillowed his head on his arms.

Donna masked her disappointment in favor of helping her friend. “Your friend Rose…”

“We shared,” he answered. “We’d been traveling together for a while and we sort of got in the habit. Then we… Well, we…”

“She wasn’t your friend! She was your girlfriend,” Donna exclaimed as the pieces fit together. 

He sat up, asking, “Isn’t that the same thing? Isn’t that what I said?”

“Girlfriend isn’t the same as a friend, don’t be daft,” Donna scoffed.

He blinked owlishly at her. 

“Seriously?” Donna asked. “Wait, whoa, are you speaking English, or are you speaking whatever weirdo alien language you speak and the Tardis is translating it?”

“Both,” he answered, sitting cross-legged. “I speak English, course I do. Can’t spend hundreds of years hanging around and not pick up the language.”

“Yeah but bet certain words don’t translate and the Tardis just… does her best, right? Like, say something in your language that there’s no English equivalent.”

“Pickles,” he said. 

“You just said pickles,” Donna snorted. 

“No, I didn’t, I said, ‘pickles,’” he said and listened back, “I did say pickles. That’s oooh, that’s weird.” He paused, thinking. “What am I saying?” The Doctor started talking and Donna laughed. “What?”

“You just kept saying ‘physics’ over and over again in funny ways.” Donna leaned back against her pillows.

“Ah, oh, that’s… that explains why everyone was so confused at my physics lecture…” He made a face, closing his eyes like he did when he was talking directly to the Tardis. “She said that she wasn’t translating anything that would bring reapers.”

“Sounds bad.”

“It is bad,” he agreed. “Still…” he shrugged. “Embarrassing.”

“Ha, so girlfriend versus friend?” Donna asked again.

“You’re my friend. Rose was my friend.”

“Oh, I see,” Donna murmured. “There’s a weird sort of catching inflection when you said it the second time.”

The Doctor was puzzled. “Well, that also explains a lot.”

“How did that work then?” Donna asked.

“What?”

“Well, you’re alien,” Donna prompted.

A puzzled frown was all she got in response.

“Rose was normal.”

“Oi, I’m normal,” he protested.

“Human, I meant. How does it? How did that--?”

The Doctor was blinking at her again in puzzlement. “I don’t--”

“Sex,” Donna emphasized. “You’re a different species. Oh my God, did you and Rose have freaky weird alien sex?”

“What--even is that?” the Doctor responded. 

“No, like did you do it how we do it, humans, or did you do it however weird alien way your alien people did it? Freaky weird alien sex things… Do your people do freaky weird alien sex things?”

“Stop saying ‘alien sex.’ It’s weird.” 

“I’ll bet it is weird, very weird, and alien,” Donna said her eyes flicking to the stack of magazines from Clom. 

“I’m not letting you read those magazines anymore,” he grumbled. “And for your information, it was what you would--can’t believe I am even having this conversation--normal.” His cheeks were pink. 

“Well, good, I’d hate to see you traumatize some earth girl with you... with whatever your people did. Probably weird…Right? Tell me it’s weird. Wearing those robes and caps for real, though?” Donna asked.

He pulled a pillow over his head and screamed into it. 

Donna pulled the pillow loose. “I’ll let you sleep here, tonight and only tonight, if you tell me what your people did…”

“They were mostly, asexual,” he blurted. 

“What? How’d you get more of you then?” 

“Looms, look, it was all very sci-fi. The nonTimelords did it normally.” He waved his hands around in a vague gesture that Donna was not going to interpret. “There were, there was mind stuff though…” And now he was red. 

“Freaky alien ‘mind stuff.’ Did you do that with Rose? The freaky alien ‘mind stuff’?”

“I never need to sleep, I can process on the fly like a shark… I’ll just go for a swim and drown myself.” the Doctor muttered.

“You did! You did all the freaky alien mind stuff with Rose!” she crowed.

“I have no reason to live.” He covered his face in the pillow again.

“Aw, go on, tell me another,” Donna asked and grabbed one of her magazines. “Did you do this? Because this is...insane.”

Soft snores greeted her. 

“Rose was a freak,” Donna whispered to herself. “I think I like her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See? Fluffy.


End file.
